Three-peat: Bishop England captures 2A Region 6 title again

Bishop England senior running back Nick Shiver (20) rushed for 161 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Bishops to a 35-13 victory over Ridgeland-Hardeeville. With the win, Bishop England clinched the 2A Region 6 title for the third consecutive season. COURTESY OF BE SPORTS FLICKR

For the third consecutive season, the Bishop England football team won the 2A Region 6 title, doing so in a 35-13 victory at Ridgeland-Hardeeville this past Friday night.

The trend that has accompanied those regular season crowns has also been state championships. Will 2013 be any different?

Senior running back Nick Shiver continued his offensive prowess in the regular season finale, scoring all five Bishops touchdowns and racking up 161 rushing yards on 17 carries.

His scoring runs of 31, 12 and 11 yards gave Bishop England a 21-0 lead in the second quarter before Ridgeland-Hardeeville got on the scoreboard with a goal line run.

The 21-7 score held at halftime, but Shiver added a 4-yard run and a 42-yard run for insurance in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.

As usual, the Bishops defense was stellar. Ridgeland-Hardeeville (6-4 overall, 5-2 region) was held to 219 total yards, and 71 of those came on a third-quarter touchdown run by Marquis Griffin, who finished with 154 rushing yards on 24 carries. By comparison, Bishop England totaled 348 total yards.

The Bishops (8-2, 7-0) have held six opponents to two touchdowns or less this season. Linebacker Jack Wilson, who started the season as the starting quarterback, recorded six solo tackles, four assists, one sack and a forced fumble.

But back to Shiver, who hopes to play football at West Point and is waiting on an official appointment. The senior played behind then-senior DeAngelo Stephenson last season, who racked up 1,234 rushing yards with an 11.4 yards per carry average.

Entering this season, Shiver was touted as the obvious replacement but could he really replace those gaudy numbers? The apparent answer: yes.

Shiver has 1,314 yards through four fewer games than Stephenson’s total and his yards per carry average is 12.4.

Bishop England earned the No. 2 overall seed in the Lower State 2A Division II playoff bracket. The first four seeds earn byes in the opening week. The Bishops will host the winner of No. 7 Andrews/No. 10 Calhoun County, Nov. 15.

Comments

Notice about comments:

Moultrie News is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. We do not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Moultrie News.

If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Read our full terms and conditions.